Chapter 79: This is a Date, Isn't It?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 79: This is a Date, Isn't It?
In all likelihood, the fact that I’d even gotten a job at this company was Seol-hyang’s doing, so I decided to just accept it meekly.
School ties, hometown ties, family ties… connections are everything.
[I’m so glad.]
Just then, Kkotbi’s relieved voice came through the phone.
She must have been in the middle of getting ready, so the fact that she was calling me meant she was probably a little nervous.
Come to think of it, she did say this would be the first time they performed their new song at a concert.
“Are you nervous?”
[A little. Heehee, concerts are always like this.]
“Don’t worry. I’ve watched you a lot with Ahyu, so I know. No other idol is better than you, Kkotbi. And you’re the prettiest one in Blackstar.”
[P-Prettiest? The other girls are all pretty, too.]
“No, you’re the prettiest. Be confident. When you sing, you’re an angel. A literal angel.”
[Haaah!]
Now that Kkotbi was using less self-hypnosis, I showered her with praise.
This was a time for an excessive injection of confidence.
[P-Please stop. I think my makeup is going to get ruined.]
“Ah, sorry. But I mean it.”
[…Thank you. Ha-chan.]
A smile spread across my face as I heard Kkotbi’s words of thanks.
“I’ll be there on time.”
[Okay.]
With that, I ended the call and stretched.
Talking with Kkotbi seemed to have cleared my head a little.
“Time to get back to work.”
I’ll just finish up the day, then head to Kkotbi’s concert.
*
After the call with Ha-chan ended, Kkotbi—Yua—fanned her bright red face with her hands.
She had a feeling he knew she was getting embarrassed and was complimenting her even more on purpose, which made her feel a little resentful, but she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curling into a silly grin.
“Yua, what’s got you so happy? Are you that excited for the concert?”
Just then, Joy, another member of Blackstar who was getting her makeup done next to her, struck up a conversation.
“Ah, y-yeah.”
“Come to think of it, you were just on the phone with someone.”
Joy’s tone was casual, but she was clearly probing.
“It’s that guy, right? The one you’re always talking to.”
“N-No! It’s not! Just a friend I know!”
As Yua shouted in a fluster, Joy burst out laughing before getting scolded by the stylist and schooling her expression.
“Unni, listen to this. Yua secretly calls some guy every night. Isn’t that totally suspicious?”
“It is. Very suspicious. The CEO would flip if he found out.”
As the stylist joined in on the teasing, mentioning their agency’s CEO, Yua’s face turned as red as a beet.
The people here had been working with Blackstar for years, so they were all comfortable enough to joke around, and Yua had instantly become their target.
“It’s not like that. It’s really not!”
“The way you’re reacting makes it even more suspicious. Then again, you have been working nonstop all this time. Still, you can’t let the fans find out, okay? Even I can’t cover for that.”
“It’s really, really not like that.”
Yua didn’t know what to do, unable to even touch her face because of her makeup.
Then, she glanced in the mirror and saw just how red her made-up face was.
Anyone would think she was flustered because she had something to hide.
Didn’t this make it look like she really liked Ha-chan?
‘B-But that’s not how I feel.’
She mumbled, looking bewildered.
Ha-chan was a kind and good person.
After her trip to the hospital, whenever she called him, he would answer even late at night and talk to her in a drowsy voice.
Her heart fluttered every time, but that was definitely because she felt sorry for what she’d put him through.
And most importantly, Yua knew very well that Ahyu liked Ha-chan.
Liking the same person your friend likes…
She couldn’t possibly like Ha-chan, if only because she was so ashamed of the time she’d used self-hypnosis to create a fake crush on Ahyu as a mental defense.
‘Am I just weak when it comes to guys?’
But thinking back, she didn’t think she’d ever been this flustered before.
In this industry, handsome men were a dime a dozen.
She had seen countless idols from the same agency get together, but she’d never given it much thought.
Perhaps it was a temporary defense mechanism since she was pretending to like Ahyu at the time.
But it hadn’t been long since she’d stopped pretending, and for her to be like this just because she’d let go of her self-hypnosis…
‘This is so embarrassing.’
She just thought of Ha-chan as a good person; she didn’t have any romantic feelings for him!
That was it.
Definitely.
“Yua, you look like you’re on fire.”
“I bet that guy is coming to the concert today.”
“I said no! I mean, he is, but that’s not it!!”
Definitely.
*
People were pouring in.
I stood there blankly, like a fish swept up in a wave.
“Domi-oppa, I think I’m gonna fall!”
Just then, Ahyu suddenly charged headfirst into my chest.
I let out a grunt and barely managed to stay on my feet before flicking her on the forehead.
“Everyone else is standing in line just fine. What’s your problem?”
“Someone pushed from the front! Hehe!”
Despite getting flicked, Ahyu just giggled, rubbing the top of her head against my chest.
It seemed she was so excited about seeing a Blackstar concert that she was about to lose her mind.
She was kind of cute when she acted like this.
As I was thinking that, our line began to move quickly.
It looked like we’d be able to go inside soon.
“Oppa, what do I do? I’m so excited I could die!”
“Hey, even your hair is turning red! Ahyu, calm down!”
“Heeheehee.”
What was I going to do with her?
Trying to think of something to calm her down, I grew curious about how Ahyu had come to like Blackstar in the first place.
From what I could tell, she’d just been a fan at some point, and back then, I didn’t even know she was a returnee, let alone a girl, so I never asked.
It wasn’t uncommon for guys her age to get into idol groups.
But thinking about it now, I was a little curious.
“Ahyu, how did you get into Blackstar?”
“Huh? Because they’re pretty?”
It was a simpler reason than I expected.
“Well, there’s that, but it was mostly because of Yua.”
“Kkotbi?”
“Yeah. The catalyst was seeing her, a fellow returnee, living so earnestly, unlike me. I was kind of in a daze back then.”
The person she saw back then was a product of the self-hypnosis Kkotbi had created to endure her own life.
But it seemed that image had given Ahyu a different kind of strength.
“So I just kept looking her up, as if I was possessed.”
“And before you knew it, you were a fan.”
“Yep, something like that. Of course, I like all the Blackstar members! Joy, Seonyul, Chae-eun, and Mimi! I love them all!”
It seemed Kkotbi had been a friend of the heart to Ahyu.
In fact, Kkotbi served as a sort of sanctuary for many returnees.
There were many people like Ahyu who were able to get back on their feet after seeing her.
‘I should tell Kkotbi this later.’
She may have had a hard time because of the self-hypnosis she created to protect herself.
But I wanted her to know that those days weren’t entirely in vain.
“I can see why you like Kkotbi so much.”
“Ooh, Domi-oppa, are you jealous?”
“I am. I feel like I lost my little sister to an idol group.”
“Don’t worry. You’re always number one for me, Domi-oppa! You have to say the same thing, quick!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
As I gave her a half-hearted reply, it was finally our turn to enter.
I headed to our seats with an ecstatic Ahyu, and I saw that Kkotbi had saved us spots right near the front.
“Awesome, awesome! This is my first time seeing them from this close!”
Ahyu, looking like she was about to explode with excitement, tugged hard on my collar and squealed.
At this rate, she was going to rip my clothes.
Of course, Ahyu wasn’t the only one who was excited.
The entire concert hall was filled with an atmosphere of people who didn’t know what to do with their excitement.
‘The energy here is incredible.’
So this is an idol concert.
I glanced behind me and saw a seemingly endless sea of people holding glowing light sticks.
Performing in front of all these people… I felt a newfound respect for the profession of an idol.
Amidst the noisy venue, while I was trying to calm Ahyu down…
Click!
Suddenly, the lights in the entire venue went out.
For a moment, everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the stage.
Then, the first track from Blackstar’s debut album began to play.
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!”
“Blackstar! Blackstar! Blackstar! Blackstar!”
Along with the erupting cheers, spotlights illuminated the stage.
And there, the five members of Blackstar stood, each in their starting pose.
The cheers grew even louder, threatening to blow the roof off the concert hall.
“My heart for you~”
With the first line, Kkotbi began the choreography.
Dressed in an outfit that highlighted black and white, she sang the opening verse, and the crowd stared, mesmerized.
Her voice was truly a gift from the gods.
When combined with the music, it was nothing short of art.
Soon, the other Blackstar members began their parts and the dance started, and I felt the sheer power of a live concert for the first time.
‘This is no joke.’
So this is why people follow concerts so religiously.
I could now understand what it felt like to be overwhelmed just by watching.
After the first song ended, as people applauded and cheered, the stage lights changed to a more comfortable color.
Staff members briefly came on stage to hand them handheld microphones before leaving. After catching their breath, the five members of Blackstar made eye contact and spoke in unison.
“Black!”
“STAAAAAAAAAR!”
At Blackstar’s signal, Ahyu and everyone else in the crowd shouted along.
Seeing this, the Blackstar members broke into wide smiles, and Chae-eun was the first to step forward.
“Thank you all for coming to our concert! Our first song was ‘My Heart for You’ from our debut album. Did you all enjoy it?!”
When she asked, everyone shouted “Yes!” in unison.
Meanwhile, I glanced over at Kkotbi. She was looking around the audience when she seemed to spot Ahyu and me, and a small smile graced her lips.
Maybe it was because of her makeup and outfit, but seeing this much more celebrity-like version of Kkotbi smiling at us gave me a strange feeling.
“O-Oppa! Yua smiled at me!!!”
“Well, yeah, she would. We’re her friends.”
“I’m gonna die!!”
“At least stay until the end.”
As I watched Ahyu with some concern, the members took turns speaking before the performance began again.
The entire concert was incredibly fun.
Blackstar’s songs were already famous, and thanks to Ahyu being a fan, I’d heard many of them by her side.
More than anything, knowing Kkotbi made it even more fun to watch.
“Thank you, everyone! See you again next time!”
After a long 90-minute concert, everyone in the venue began to rise from their seats, a great sense of disappointment in the air.
By the end, Ahyu was outright crying.
Unable to watch any longer, I was wiping her tears with my sleeve as she sniffled.
“How do you still have the energy to scream and cry like that?”
“I’m completely drained now. Haaah, that was so good. My legs hurt, too. Should we go somewhere and rest?”
“You sound like a boyfriend who just went on a date.”
“I’ll just hold your hand and sleep.”
As I stared at her, Ahyu slowly fidgeted before avoiding my gaze.
“W-Well, maybe a little more.”
“A little more what?”
Just then, my phone buzzed. I checked the message.
[Oppa, I’m at Gate 9. You can come over here.]
It was a text from none other than Kkotbi.
It seemed she had wrapped things up after the concert.
“You must be exhausted. I guess we can’t go see Kkotbi.”
“I’m suddenly full of energy.”
As I showed her the text, the light instantly returned to Ahyu’s eyes.
Her stamina was truly something else.